Combining your passion into the story....

                                     
                                           Rafflesia: Photo by ma_suska

Rafflesia has the largest known individual flower in the world. This fascinating southeast Asian plant also has the distinction of being one of the stinkiest plants around; its foul-smelling odor attracts carrion insects.

When visiting the rainforest at the Royal Belum State Park in Malaysia last December, the rafflesia we found was not in flower. Our  guide told us that animals eat the fleshy plant despite it's fetid odor, but if a human touches the rafflesia, it dies! Nature never ceases to amaze me, which is why I wanted to be able to include interesting ecological morsels into the storyline of my novel, Pursuit of the Golden Lily. Exploring and experiencing the wonders of the natural world has been a lifelong passion for me. So, as the story seeds planted in the fertile ground of my imagination begin to germinate, I'll be sure to seek out opportunities to continue including aspects of nature in my plot lines.

The photo of this enormous leaf was taken in the rainforest at Royal Belum. The biodiversity that exists in rainforests such as these is extraordinary. Unfortunately the planting of monocultures such the palm oil tree is threatening biodiversity throughout Malaysia and Indonesia. Huge tracts of virgin forest are logged to make way for palm oil plantations and while the boost to the economy in Malaysia is undeniable, it is not sustainable. If you haven't heard about palm oil, just look at the ingredients of your grocery items next time you go shopping. You'll find that palm oil has become a ubiquitous ingredient. Palm oil can be planted and harvested sustainably. Adhering to persistent demands from ecologically minded consumers, Target and Costco have both committed to establishing stronger guidelines for palm oil sourcing. It's a start. There's still a long way to go but never forget that as consumers, we drive the markets. It's never too late to get involved!
Thanks for stopping by. My novel is currently available as an eBook and will soon be for sale on Amazon and Kindle.
Learn more about Certified Sustainable Palm Oil
Is Malaysia's Palm Oil worth the cost?
Learn more about the fascinating Rafflesia

Biodiversity & Hornbills

Rhinoceros hornbill

In writing Pursuit of the Golden Lily, I wanted to weave a variety of ecological and environmental topics into the narrative. Part of the story takes place in southern Thailand, in what is now the Bang Lang National Park. This vast area of mountainous rainforest straddles the border with Malaysia. On the Malaysian side is the Royal Belum State Park, located in Northern Perak. My research for the book led me to hornbills - prehistoric-looking birds that roam the forests. Both parks are home to several different species of hornbills. Sadly, many species of Thai hornbills are at present near extinction.

A Hornbill Research Team led by Dr. Pilai Poonswad, holding a captured rufous-necked hornbill.

Aside from their obvious unique beauty, hornbills provide a vital service to the forests they inhabit. As far-ranging fruit eaters, they help maintain forest regeneration and biodiversity by dispersing seeds as they 'eat on the fly'. Healthy forests depend on birds like hornbills to maintain diversity of species. Hornbills are poached for a couple of reasons. The first is the pet trade - the chicks are captured then sold. The second is that the appendage on the upper bill, called a casque is a valuable commodity in some societies. Made of a substance called keratin, the casque is sometimes referred to as hornbill ivory and is sought after to be carved into precious objects.

Rhinoceros hornbill: Photo by Tom Murphy VII

Helmeted hornbill: Photo by Doug Janson

We didn't visit Bang Lang National Park on our journey, but we did get to see hornbills when we were at Khao Sok Lake; unfortunately they were too far up in the treetops for me to capture a good photo. We did, however, visit the Royal Belum State Park, which is absolutely beautiful. I'll write more about that in the next post, continuing on the theme of biodiversity and Pursuit of the Golden Lily.

Maintaining biodiversity in all regions of earth is crucial to our own survival. Every tiny insect, yes, even the ubiquitous mosquito that we disdain, has a purpose.

Pursuit of the Golden Lily is available as an eBook and will be on Amazon and Kindle by the time my next post comes around! If this Blog is of interest to you, please do sign up for email notifications. Thanks for stopping by. 

You can learn more about hornbills at the following websites.

Hornbill Research Foundation 

Archive

Hornbill Watch

The Journey... Earth

When I began this Blog, I didn't know exactly where it would take me. Yes, my intention was to feature the 'journey' of my novel, Pursuit of the Golden Lily. I wanted to record the actual physical landscape of the story and visit the places that had lived solely in my imagination for so long. Miraculously, along with my two dear friends and travel companions, Marjorie and Ruby, I was able to achieve that, and experienced the trip of  a lifetime -  a journey close to my heart, that allowed me to return my father's precious diary to the place where it was written while he was a prisoner of the Japanese during WWII. It was phenomenal. But now what? The book is finished, the task of marketing it to the world has begun and once again, I find myself reflecting on the metaphor of the 'Journey'.

In truth, the journey began a long time ago, when a little girl who grew up in a magic kingdom, called Sherwood Forest, was allowed to roam freely. She made friends with the animals, the birds, the trees, the people. Her imagination flourished. It was there that she learned to have empathy with all living creatures and promised herself, that in her lifetime she would do what she could, whenever she could, to help those in need. She understood that somehow all things are connected. 

So today, as I reflected on what direction to take with this Blog - just one tiny voice amongst millions - I decided to continue writing about issues of importance to me. Fortuitously some of those same concerns are referenced in Pursuit of the Golden Lily, so I'm still on topic! I'm not heading off on a narcissistic tangent, but merely wish to map out the route, guide my thoughts and seek subjects which might be of interest to others and at the same time raise awareness. If any of these topics are of interest to you, then I hope you will join my email list and ride along with me.

I begin with the Earth; this perfect planet that gives us life. For the next couple of posts, I'm going to explore biodiversity and examine why it is so important. In the book, and on the journey, we travelled through several areas of immense biological diversity. Some were thriving, others not so much. The trunk emerging from the water in the above photo, is the ghostly reminder of a former rainforest canopy giant. That photo, the one at the top, and the one below were all taken at Khao Sok National Park, in Thailand.

Formerly an ancient rainforest dating back millions of years, the area was flooded in the 1980s when the Klong Saeng River was blocked to create the Ratchaprapha Dam. While there was much controversy back when the dam was first built, today the surrounding forests would probably be threatened by logging if it were not for the protection afforded by the national park designation, ushered in by Royal decree.
Biodiversity - the existence of many different kinds of plants and animals in an environment - is something we are really only just beginning to understand. For the next couple of posts I'll share some of the examples of biodiversity encountered on this journey.
Stay tuned!

Bloggers and Book Clubs... the new frontiers of book marketing.

So, my new novel is published. The long-anticipated moment has arrived. Now what? OK., in the interest of transparency, let me clarify. My book is self-published. What this means, in this wonderful era of publishing democratization, is that if I want anyone to read my lovingly penned tome, I will have to spend a considerable amount of time marketing it!

I knew this, of course. What I didn't know until I began this latest journey, was the importance and prevalence of both book clubs and book bloggers. The good news is that with some perseverance, I am gradually sifting through the latter and finding a wonderful array of literary enthusiasts ready to read your book and post their opinion if you politely ask them to. I also have some book club contacts, thanks to supportive friends who've already read and enjoyed my book.

Of course, the question begs... who exactly is this person who is going to hold sway over your literary manifesto? Ah, well that is where the research comes in... you know, the hours and hours of combing through the 'About' section of someone's Blog, checking out what books they liked, or not; reading the reviews. As the saying goes, 'No pain, no gain'. And then, there are the night terrors... what will they write about mine? What if they hate it? What if... blah, blah. Sigh. I know, there are much worse things to keep one awake at night but ego occasionally vies for attention. I'm actually REALLY grateful to all these diligent and enthusiastic readers who offer their services, because quite frankly in this new frontier of book marketing, they are often the ones who can make or break your work. So,

thank you Bloggers for your dedication to reading. I've already begun compiling my list and as soon as Pursuit of the Golden Lily is up on Amazon and Kindle, I shall take a deep breath and hit send on my first email of inquiry!

And thank you Book Clubs - if you know of one you think might enjoy the book, please let me know.

In the meantime, you can download the first couple of chapters for free HERE

or HERE - it is also available on iBooks.

Transparency - Fact & Fiction

The clandestine Japanese wartime operation called the Golden Lily is oftentimes referred to as the legend of Yamashita's Gold.

When I began writing my novel, Pursuit of the Golden Lily, I had never heard of this WWII atrocity. I was searching for some event that I could weave into a story about a girl returning her father's POW diary to Thailand. But when I stumbled upon Sterling & Peggy Seagrave's book - The Gold Warriors, I knew I had found the thread that would bind my story. 

I am not one for conspiracy theories, although I do believe that there is a kernel of truth in everything. However, the more I researched the Golden Lily, the more it felt as if I was falling down a rabbit hole. How to verify fact from fiction? The nefarious audacity of this clandestine operation, meticulously executed by the Japanese, is chilling. The alleged complicity of the Japanese Imperial Family and subsequently that of members of the CIA, is particularly disturbing despite the inevitability of post war alliances. Some information I read is indisputable, other accounts, well, let's say each individual must make their own assumptions. But thanks to the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, newly released court documents do lend credibility to the meticulously documented work of the Seagraves. 

As a novelist, my first desire is to tell a good story. As a human being, my commitment is to seek transparency; to shed light on the unfamiliar, the under-reported; to give credence to that which is undermined for the sake of political gain, greed and power. But I am one writer; one voice echoing in cyberspace; a blip on the cosmic screen. Still, I am grateful at the very least, to be able to commemorate the victims of the Golden Lily, for there were thousands upon thousands of them. And while I am not seeking to vilify the Japanese, I do believe that being informed of such activities and collaborations reminds us to be vigilant. In this time, when vitriol is ubiquitously seeping into our political landscapes, I hope we shall not forget how quickly the past is forgotten.

Pursuit of the Golden Lily is released tomorrow, May 22nd. You can download the first two chapters at Smashwords

Here is an interesting website on Yamashita's Gold.

Learn more about The Gold Warriors 

A Latte, a Novel or a Song? A little perspective....

Photo Credit:Takeaway

I love a good café latte, well actually I've recently switched to the Aussie Flat White, which is slowly steaming its way into North American cafés  (There is a difference between the two - ask a barista.) But this (tiny) rant, is not really about the coffee, although I will mention that the ecological and social costs of cup a latte are probably much higher than the price one typically pays at most coffee outlets. No, this is a reflection, a comparison really, between what we are willing to pay as societies, for a cup of coffee versus the price of a creative work.

Photo Credit: David Shankbone

 What piqued my curiosity happened to be a conversation overheard as I stood in line waiting to buy... a coffee. A couple in front of me were discussing where to find the cheapest books. About to self-publish my own novel, my ears perked up. The first person complained that there weren't enough options @ $0.99 or better still, for free. The second person commiserated then made some website suggestions. I watched them pay well over $10 for their coffees and sundries. As they walked away, I couldn't help but wonder..

 When did the currency of creativity devalue so drastically? And when did the price we're quite willing to pay for a speciality coffee, or a nicely packaged bar of chocolate, rise so high?

OK. you say, I'm only saying this because I am a creative artist. True, I am, but I have been fortunate enough to be able to transform my creativity into work that does pay. That's not the point. 

Photo Credit: Rugby471

It can take years to write a good book. YEARS. Then you have to either find a publisher or self-publish in which case you have to market the hell out of it to sell any copies. It can take months to write a good song - then you have to record it, probably pay for studio time, musicians maybe, mixing and mastering. It all costs a lot of $$$$. So when someone says they want to find a book or a song for free, what that says to me is that the person does not put any dollar value on creativity. And because so many people now expect to be able to have books, songs, music, films, newspaper articles etc. for free, doesn't that mean that as a society we are collectively declaring that creativity in all its forms no longer has value? Or if it does, a minimal one.

We certainly don't think that the creators of these works deserve to be paid. Or perhaps we just don't think about it. 

Suddenly we feel we're entitled to it all.

Photo Credit: Avsar Aras

We still want great novels, fabulous songs, stars to worship, films to inspire and trustworthy news, but we are no longer willing to pay for it. Instead, we expect thousands upon thousands of artists, writers, actors, film makers and journalists to basically work for nothing. Maybe I'm crazy, but this does not make sense to me. I fear it leads us down a slippery slope. Or perhaps we've collectively drunk the Koolaid Meme of the starving artist.

Let's hope I'm wrong. But I think it is worth having a conversation about.

That's my (tiny) rant for today! Back to work...

Book is available for Pre-orders!

My book is available as an eBook and can be PRE-RORDERED. I invite you to take a look @ Smashwords - you can download the first chapter and a half for FREE! It will be formally published on May 22nd 2016! I am so excited. I know my work is only just beginning, as far as marketing etc., but to see it up there is a THRILL. Next, I will proceed with facilitating the print edition. I have a few kinks to iron out on that, but hope to have those smoothed over in the next few weeks.

Was the process painful?

I have to say that Smashwords was not too difficult to navigate. However, since I am NOT one to enjoy formatting, I engaged one of their recommended formatters, Lucinda Campbell and that was a brilliant move - Lucinda formatted the book so it up-loaded without a hitch - well a few blimps, but nothing that really made me tear my hair out. A big 'Thank You' to my friend, Guy Dauncey, who just published his new novel: Journey to the Future - Guy gave me lots of tips and encouragement. Check out his book, it's a good read with an optimistic vision of the future - something sorely lacking these days.

Next - the print edition. Hope to have that ready in the next few weeks. Please share with friends, family, everyone you know. If there's a Book Club in your circles, invite them to read it. Stay tuned! Thanks for your support.